Just A Temporary Thing
by humerus
Summary: Set after the events of Season 2's "Tick, Tick, Tick/Boom" arc. What if Kate had stayed with the Castles for longer than we saw on the show?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Set after Season 2's "Tick, Tick, Tick/Boom" arc. I always found it annoying that the show never really dealt with the fallout of the bomb and Kate losing everything. In reality I'm sure it would have taken ages to find another apartment, and I got to wondering what would happen if she stayed with the Castles for that time. In my head, this is a long series which shows the events of season two/three changed due to Kate staying with the Castles and eventually goes AU. I'm not sure if it is worth me continuing, but if you are interested please let me know, and I'll keep writing!

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><p>It was just a temporary thing.<p>

Because in one moment every solid, dependable, physical thing in her life exploded from a madman's bomb. And when the dust settled, the only concrete point remaining was him.

_You'll always have a home._

So it was just a temporary thing. Until she did what she did best, and clawed her way back up, and stood on her own two feet, and showed them that Kate Beckett was a survivor.

At first, she was just staying there until the caught the bomber. Then she was just staying until she got the insurance sorted. But then there were problems with insurance covering emergency accommodation, and she wasn't exactly affording a stay at the Ritz on her detective wages. She needed every penny she could spare to being to replace the necessities she had lost. And then it just seemed easier to stay until she found something else.

She vowed she would be out of there the moment things got awkward. But they never really did.

And they left the precinct together and built theory of the way home, and had dinner with Alexis while Martha glided past on the way off to meet Chet, and then Kate helped Alexis with her French homework while he made sure Nikki took another villain off the streets. On busy nights it was pizza and a case, and when they had nothing active it was a build-your-own-sundae bar and a double feature on the couch, just the three of them.

Then in the morning it was "Good luck on your chem test" and matched raised eyebrows at Martha just coming home when they were on their way out the door, and a "same as usual" at Starbucks and no-one even looking up with they emerged together from the elevator doors, Castle spouting some irrational theory about their latest case.

She got to know her way around his kitchen and his family and, eventually, his life. She got comfortable. Sometimes, in the corner of her mind, she could admit that she was happy.

It could never last. But she just couldn't bring herself to move out and have everything that mattered to her lay in ruins once more.

She needed an impetus. Something to shake her from the comfortable cocoon she had wrapped herself in.

* * *

><p>She had been staying there (she refused to think 'living with him') for two weeks when Castle was on another late night show. She and Martha and Alexis had made popcorn and were bunked down on the couch waiting for his interview.<p>

As he came out on set – dimpled smile and a quick wave at the camera – she was hit suddenly by the fact that he was _Richard Castle_. That she had once queued for three hours to get her book signed by him. That millions of people had read his books, on airplanes and beaches and after horrible days at work and messy divorces and – like her – after tragedies that pulled their fragile existence apart.

And now she lived in his spare bedroom. Life was funny sometimes.

He was his usual, charming self. Or not quite. So many months of seeing this man daily had made her see the carefree, charming playboy he presented to the world was more of an embellishment of one aspect of his personality. Yes, sometimes he was an eight year old jumping off the top of the monkey bars to get a cute girl's attention. But there was more to him. More substance, more heart.

Then the over-the-hill floozy on his right started flirting.

Not that Kate minded. She wasn't jealous. He could flirt with whoever (_whomever_, her inner-Castle voice corrected) he wanted. (And she could think 'whoever' if she wanted to, he wasn't the internal monologue grammatical police.) Kate was not his girlfriend. She was just his live-in muse/pseudo-police-partner-who's-place-got-blown-up-by-a-stalker-obsesed-with-the-fictional-alter-ego-he-concocted.

She was dimly away that on-screen they had cut to commercial. Martha and Alexis were shooting her looks they obviously thought she couldn't see out of the corner of their eyes.

Kate suddenly saw the next few weeks in excruciating detail. He'd wine and dine the floozy and the press would be all over it. Castle could be quite charming when he wanted to be (although she'd rather take a bullet to a non-vital body part than tell him that). And Kate would have to see photos of Castle and his latest conquest in her morning paper, and listen to him make flirty calls and organise romantic dinners all day and - oh God – just how sound-proof were the bedroom walls around here? Because if she had to listen to the two of them–

Not that she was jealous.

"Now you worked with actual NYPD homicide detectives to research _Heat Wave_, didn't you?" Bobby Mann was asking as they came back from commercial.

"Yes, I did," Castle answered. "And can you believe they still won't let me carry a gun?"

There was laughter from the audience. Kate suppressed at smirk as she rolled her eyes. "The NYPD is supposed to protect the citizens of New York, not endanger them," she remarked to Martha and Alexis.

The smirk disappeared from her face completely as the floozy on the set couch with Castle lent in closer to him (conveniently giving the camera a nice view of her cleavage) and said, "I didn't know you worked with law enforcement. It's kind of my weak spot."

Something inside Kate's stomach twisted painful. Not that she was jealous.

"Mine too," Castle stage-whispered.

Her eyes snapped back to the screen, only to see Castle staring down the camera, as though looking straight at her. Her breath caught for a moment, and the twisting in her stomach changed to something deeper, something more visceral.

She was dimly aware of the floozy sitting back in the couch, a look of annoyance flickering across her features, before being replaced with a plastic smile once more.

"Oh, ho!" Bobby Mann was saying now. "Ladies of the NYPD watch out! So, did your research with the NYPD extend to the more _heated_ scenes?"

Castle now suddenly seemed to realise what he had implied (and that, while _he_ was not armed, _she_ had a service pistol in the safe of his office), and a momentary look of panic tinged with guilt crossed his features.

Luckily he was saved from answering by Hank, who lent over to Ellie Monroe. "Did I ever tell you I used to be in law enforcement." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"You were a hall monitor in middle school," Bobby corrected, to laughter from the audience.

The interview was only a few minutes. Castle confirmed that casting was not yet complete for the movie and that he was working on a second novel for the series. They plugged the book one more time and Bobby gave his trademark send-off.

There was silence in the apartment as Alexis clicked off the TV. She and Martha looked over at Kate.

They were not speaking very loudly.

* * *

><p>She was definitely not waiting up for him. She just happened to be still up when his key turned in the lock. But though the door opened he didn't come in. Instead what appeared to be a tissue tied to the end of a chopstick emerged through the opening and waved back and forward.<p>

"I surrender," came Castle's voice from the hall.

She hid her smile with the ease of practice and affected what Lannie called her 'perp-face'.

"Oops," offered Castle with a shrug.

"Hey, Dad," said Alexis and she walked down the stairs. "How was the show? Did you have fun?" As she went over hug Castle he tucked her in under his arm, shooting Kate puppy-dog eyes that seem to say 'you wouldn't shoot me and leave this poor innocent girl orphaned'.

Kate sighed in return and gave him a 'you're not off the hook just yet' look, although they both knew he was. He had been exploiting Alexis ever since he realised she was Kate's weak spot.

She'd get it from the boys at the station tomorrow. But really, it was no worse than anything he said every day anyway. Except this was in front of millions of people. Her frown returned. Time for bed. They had an early start, especially since she was making him go across town before work to the French bakery that made Manhattan's best bear claws.

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><p>It niggled at her though, as they investigated Bobby Mann's death. Sure, living with Castle had made her realise that most of his 'conquests' that made it to page six were complete fabrications. Just last week they'd had a photo of his 'rendezvous' with a blond bombshell and details of their dinner at le Circ. Only the bombshell was a material witness in a case that they had been interviewing (Kate had been cropped from the edge of the photo, but her sleeve was visible) and she knew he'd been home that night, because Alexis and Kate had double teamed him in laser tag and totally whooped his ass.<p>

But even if most of his reported liaisons were nothing more than the inventions of overpaid gossip columnists the truth was sooner or later he was going to be bringing someone home. And the awkwardness of that was just too much to consider. She could just picture Castle's voice at the end of the date when they got back to his place. "Random Blond, this is my mother, my daughter and the detective who I write my best-selling novels featuring steamy sex scenes with my alter ego about. Now, can I get you a glass of wine?"

She was getting too comfortable to the Castles. Far too comfortable with dinners for more than one person and chaos over breakfast and making plans and having someone to come home too.

She made a mental note to look at some apartments on her next day off.

She reminded herself that staying with Castle was a temporary thing.

* * *

><p>"This place is a shoe-box."<p>

"It's compact."

"It's a death trap. Trust me girl, a place like this? I bet you the last resident was dead two weeks and being eaten by her cats before they found her."

"Lanie, if I want to be near the precinct, this is all I can afford."

"Kate, the toilet is in kitchen."

"It's convenient."

"The whole place could fit in Castle's hall closet."

"I'll save time on cleaning."

The ME raised an eyebrow. "Tell me why you leaving Writer Boy's place again? Big, spacious loft, nice views. And the lookout over Manhattan ain't too bad either."

"Castle's place, it's just a…temporary thing. Eventually it's going to get awkward."

"But it's not yet?"

Kate was silent.

"Because I seem to remember hearing all about how awkward it was living with Sorenson. How you felt suffocated. But now you spend twenty four hours a day with Writer Boy, playing house and raising his kid with him and living with his mom, and that's not suffocating? Not even awkward. Isn't that interesting?" Lanie Parish smirked at her best friend.

"I'm not….I mean, that's completely different. And I'm not raising his kid."

"What were you doing this morning when I came over?" Lanie asked.

"Just helping with her applications for the NYU summer school program."

"Mmm hmmm," replied Lanie. "And the other day when you dashed off early?"

"We were just having coffee. She wanted to talk about how to deal with a guy in class who has a crush on her. It's not like she can talk to her mother or Castle about it. The poor girl has no one," Kate defended.

"Don't you try misdirection on me, Kate Beckett. I passed psych in med school. You think Martha Rodgers couldn't tell her a thing or two about unwanted male attention?" Lanie smiled. "You tell me you didn't do a background check on the boy and I'll drop it."

Kate was silent.

"I rest my case. Now, let's get out of here before I catch something."

Both the blessing and the curse of New York: there was always another homicide to solve. A curse when she all she needed was a long soak in the tub with a good book and hot tea. A blessing when she needed an excuse to avoid another one of Lanie's blind dates, or avoid honest contemplation about the fact that she fast moving from the territory of 'bunking at a friends in a time of need' to actually living with Richard Castle.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Thanks so much for all the story alerts/reviews, they've definitely inspired me to write more! This chapter loosely covers the events of season 2's _Den of Thieves_. Anything recognisable doesn't belong to me. If you like it please let me know. I truly treasure every review, even if you just say 'good job'/'horrible job'.

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><p>Castle was teaching Alexis how to play no limit Texas hold 'em at the table in the lounge. Kate was teaching Alexis about tells.<p>

"See, there. How he looks straight at you? Means he's got something. He's looking at you to make sure you're not looking at him. When he's disappointed, he looks at the cards longer, like he thinks it'll get better if he wills it enough," Kate explained.

"Oh really," Castle drawled. "You willing to put your matchsticks were your mouth is?" He pushed a small pile of the matchsticks they were using as bounty across the table.

She leant forward, not braking eye contact with him as she spoke to Alexis. "Now he's goading me into increasing my bid. He's got a really good hand." Never let it be said that a Beckett backed down, she thought, as she slid a matching pile of matchsticks into the centre.

"You think you know me so well, but I just might surprise you, Detective." He lent forward too, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Please, Castle. I can read you like a dime store romance novel."

He quirked an eyebrow but was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. They broke eye contact as they looked over at her phone, and it was only then that Kate realised they had been learning across the table, almost touching. Alexis' eyes were moving rapidly between them both, and Kate realised that she'd completely forgotten the girl was in the room.

"Beckett," she answered. Dispatch gave her the details of a body found in a car garage. She hung up and waited for a moment for the message to arrive from dispatch with the address and first responder information. "Got a body," she informed Castle, who was already getting ready to leave. "Will you be ok, Alexis?" she said concernedly, then wondered if the teenager would be offended at the insinuation that she couldn't take care of herself alone, at home, on a weekday evening.

"I'm fine," Alexis replied. But she didn't look offended. Just the opposite really, she looked like she appreciated the concern.

Kate nodded and turned to Castle, only to see him giving her a look she didn't quite have words for.

"I'm driving," Kate asserted, rather than thinking about what that look meant.

"Shotgun!" called Castle instantly.

"You don't need to call shotgun when you're the only the only passenger, Castle," she said in exasperation.

Castle gave Alexis a kiss on the forehead and turned back to her. "Like you wouldn't kick me to the perp seat at the first opportunity," he countered.

"You fiddle with my radio," she complained as she opened the front door. "Some things should remain sacred."

* * *

><p>The body was in the front seat of a car, and showed signs of torture. As the case went on the found out he had been a thief, lured out of retirement to help an old friend in one final bank heist. They called robbery for more info about Paul Finch and, after being endlessly transferred around the unit, were told there had been a recent score fitting his MO. The new guy (Schlemming?) told them he was too busy to come down personally, but that he'd call them with any leads.<p>

Once Esposito realised the disappearance of his old partner was linked to the murder, he started calling in favours. It burned at Kate to see the pain on the other detective's face when doubts about the allegiance of his ex-partner began to surface. It turned out Esposito knew the new guy in robbery, and Kate was relieved when he agreed to come down of help. Maybe now they could finally catch a break on this case.

"Everyone, this is my boy Demming. Demming, this is my partner Ryan, Richard Castle, and Detective Beckett," Esposito said. Kate was aware of Demming's rather appreciative lingering look as he gave her a once over, and Castle stiffening slightly beside her.

They'd spent the rest of the evening bring each other up to speed on the aspects of the case and going over surveillance of the bank. Demming seemed like a decent guy and when he smiled at her over paperwork Kate had to admit he was not hard on the eyes, either.

They pushed on late, until Kate's eyes were starting to blur despite the coffees that Castle had been wordlessly placing at her elbow all night. Ryan and Esposito had left half an hour ago, planning to visit Esposito's old partner's wife in the morning. Kate had wanted to push on, to find something new, to have some break in the case to show Espo when he came in in the morning.

Kate knew what it was like to have a case consume you. And she would do anything to avoid having that happen to a friend. She knew they should call it a night. She just couldn't bring herself to say the words. It felt too much like giving up.

Castle's hand brushed her elbow. Kate looked up. "We should head home. We'll catch this guy, we always do, but it's not going to be tonight. And if we're too tired, we'll miss something."

Kate's eyes locked with his, grateful that he had not only spoken up, but that he had given her a way of giving herself permission for the break. He was right. It would be too easy to miss something in the messy reports and grainy surveillance tapes if they were over-tired.

"Alright," she agreed, closing the report in front of her and her eyes for a moment, as she stretched her arms out and rolling her neck, stiff from sitting for so long. She opened her eyes to see both men in the room looking down at where her shift had ridden up when she stretched. Their eyes snapped away as she smoothed her shirt down, Demming shuffling some papers into a box before him, and Castle closing his file, and pulling his phone from his pocket.

Kate was surprised when she noted the time on the illuminated screen of his cell. When had it gotten so late? She saw the photo of Alexis on his screen background.

"Alexis!" she said suddenly to Castle. Would she have had dinner, without them home? Surely she was fine, the teenager was more mature than Castle. Still…

"She's fine," Castle assured her. "Mother was home, she made dinner. Well, technically she brought Thai. Well, she used my credit card. But she ordered – actually Alexis probably ordered. Anyway, they left some for us in the fridge."

Demming reached past her to put the final file in the box and closed the lid. His lips were pressed together and he was avoiding eye contact all of a sudden. Kate abruptly realised how that conversation would have sounded to a third party. Castle's concern for her welfare, the 'we's, then the clear implication that they were going home, together, to a place where they lived with Castle's daughter and mother. It sounded as though they lived together. _Don't you?_ Said an internal voice that sounded rather a lot like Lanie. _Not like that, _she thought and then quashed the small Lanie-voice before it could argue back.

Demming continued to look disappointed as Kate tried to think of a way to salvage the situation. She could send Castle out to put the box of files away, and explain to Demming that it wasn't like it sounded. That she was just saying with Castle _temporarily_ and that just because they lived together, worked together, ate all their meals together and hung out with the boys and Lanie together, didn't mean there was anything going on. _Right_.

She looked up to ask Castle to move the boxes and caught sight of his face. Maybe he wasn't as open as Demming, but Kate knew how to read more than just Castle's poker face. And right now he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He knew he had pushed the envelope with his comment, staked his claim, as it were. Kate knew all the boys had noticed that Demming had been flirting all afternoon. She'd been flattered. A year ago she would have tossed her hair and a smile, and flirted right back. But then she remembered Ellie Monroe, and how she had felt watching Castle's appearance on the late show, the twisting of not-jealousy deep in her stomach.

Mostly, she remembered how Castle had turned Monroe down.

Castle's wary expression and uncharacteristic silence suddenly made sense. He reached for the files and walked toward the door to put them back at her desk. His meaning was clear; the decision was up to her.

"If there's any Pad Thai, I call dibs," she called to him. Let Demming believe whatever he wanted to. He was a nice guy, but Kate was already homeless and still recovering from being blown up. The last thing she needed was another complication.

"We'll see you in the morning, Detective?" she asked Demming as they headed toward the elevators. He nodded in return, and smiled at both her and Castle. Kate felt a weight of her shoulders. It was just simpler this way.

* * *

><p>As the investigation continued, it was obvious they had a dirty cop in their midst. When they began to suspect Demming, Kate kept him occupied with a training spar in the precinct gym while Espo and Ryan checked his cell. It was a brutal fight, and Kate had enjoyed the challenge. She hadn't been coming here as much since she was staying at the loft and sparring with Demming – both physically and verbally – was a lot of fun. But as she questioned him as they fought, it rapidly became obvious Demming was not their guy.<p>

Demming and Kate made their back to the others. Ryan and Esposito's disappointment when Demming's alibi checked out was almost comical, and she and Castle let out a laugh as he unwound the bandages from her hand. And if Castle lingered just a bit long with the bandage, or softly stroked his thumb over her sore knuckles when he was done, she pretended not too notice.

* * *

><p>It had been a long couple of days, but clearing Esposito's partner and collaring both an organised crime boss and a dirty cop made it all worthwhile. They had decided that a few celebratory drinks at the bar were call for.<p>

Kate slid down in the booth slightly and let her head rest on the top. She saw Ryan and Esposito getting another round at the bar before she closed her eyes in contentment.

"You know, Esposito called me his partner today. In front of lots of people." Castle was saying, his chest practically puffed out in pride.

"You might have mentioned that a few dozen times," Kate responded, laughing as Demming added "on the ride over".

"I'm very proud of you both," Kate continued without opening her eyes. "It's not easy coming out, especially on the force, but you know we've got your back." She could hear Demming's laughter from across the booth then, and could imagine the expression on Castle's face clearly. "I've had my suspicions about you Castle, but Espo was a surprise. And I would have thought Ryan was more his type. But then, he's got Jenny, so I suppose he was off the market," she mused. She reached out to the table to pat the back of Castle's hand in consolation.

"Kaaate," Castle whined. He nudged her with his elbow, and just as she was becoming very aware of their close proximity in the booth, she heard the noise of Ryan placing the next round on the table. She straightened up in the booth, and opened her eyes to see the red face of Demming across from her as he struggled for breath amid his laughter.

But as she reached for her drink, Castle seemed to overcome his embarrassment and decided to get revenge. Her reaching forward for his drink brought them even close together and Castle leaned so he was even more in her personal space, almost pressed against her right side. "I'd be happy to deliver some solid evidence to refute those suspicions, any time you like, Detective," he whispered into her ear.

"Mom! Dad! Not in front of the kids," Esposito was saying, covering his eyes with his hands. Kate was thankful for the interruption, leaning back into the booth and trying to coax back the rational thought that had left her head at the feel of Castle's warm breath across her neck as he whispered into her ear.

While they had their first drink, Esposito had been telling them more about his old partner and some of their more interesting take-downs. Kate could see how happy it made the other detective to know that his friend was alive, and that they had cleared his name. Now, he was telling them the story of how he and Demming met, and then Demming told them some of his adventures as a robbery detective.

Castle seemed to enjoy the stories, and Kate already suspected a robbery would crop up in Nikki's next case. Soon he was telling Demming to come down to their break room to use their cappuccino maker anytime so he wouldn't have to put up with the sludge that robbery called coffee.

She felt her eyes drooping again. It had been a long case and despite the satisfying ending, Kate just felt like going home to her own bed. For a moment she almost panicked at the realisation that she was starting to think of Castle's loft as 'home' and the decadent pillow-top in his spare room as 'her' bed. But that was tomorrow's problem. Right now she was too tired to care.

"Looks like someone's bedtime," Castle whispered beside her.

"Mmmm," she hummed in agreement. Talking was too much effort.

Castle chuckled quietly at her expression. Turning to the others, he said, "We're going to head off. Someone needs her beauty sleep."

Kate would have kicked him under the table for that comment, but lifting her leg seemed like too much of an effort. She glared at him instead, but knew it lacked her usual ferocity.

"Yeah, I better get home to Jenny too," Ryan agreed. Demming and Esposito made moves as if to leave too.

"You should bring her next time," Castle said. "We should get Lanie to come too."

The others all made noises of agreement as they headed out of the bar. Kate didn't object to the hand Castle placed at the small of her back. She was so tired it felt like the only thing keeping her upright. For a moment she was tempted to lean in close to him and rest her head on his shoulder. Although they had only had two drinks, so knew that her fatigue left her in no state to drive. She slid her keys from her pocket and handed them to Castle.

He looked like a kid at Christmas. "Don't get used to it," she warned, as he took the keys from her hand with a gleeful smile.

She heard him offer Demming a ride, but the other detective had already hailed a cab. She was aware of Castle opening the passenger door for her and reaching for her seatbelt. She slapped his hand away without thinking and buckled it herself. She was asleep before the end of the block.

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><p><strong>Author's Note 2<strong>: In season 2, it always seemed that Beckett and Castle weren't ready to be together, but weren't going to be with anyone else either. I always felt like Kate and Demming wouldn't have got together if it wasn't for Castle hooking up with Ellie Monroe. What do y'all think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Covers the events of 2x22 _Food to Die For_ and 2x23 _Overkill_. Huge thanks for the reviews. The whole conversation between Kate and Alexis in this chapter came from an anonymous reviewer who said Martha and Alexis would have tried to keep Kate at the loft. So please review if you have a minute, it often inspires me. And Happy Christmas everyone!

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><p>"Oh no, Castle, you're staying right here," Kate said as she moved toward the door.<p>

Puppy dog eyes filled her vision. "Beckett," said Castle with a pout.

"We don't even have a case."

"I could help you with paperwork."

"An untrained baby monkey would be more help with paperwork than you are. And cuter. Besides, you have dishes to do." She gestured to their breakfast dishes in the sink.

"I promise to turn the sound off on my angry birds. You won't even notice I'm there. Pleeeease Beckett?" he begged, leaning over the breakfast counter toward her, his most pitiful expression gracing his features.

She sighed. "Look, I'll call you if a body drops," she conceded. "But until then you can stay here and write. You've still got to write the final two chapters by the end of this week. You're only just meeting deadline."

"But I'm always months behind deadline! If I hand in a manuscript on time, Paula might die of shock! You wouldn't want to be responsible for the death of an innocent editor, would you?"

"I'll take that chance, Castle," Kate said dryly as she headed for the door. As her hand landed on the door knob her phone rang in her pocket. She tried to ignore Castle's happy dance in the kitchen as she took the details. It was amazing the man had managed to finish one book with his efforts at procrastination.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the murder scene – a restaurant called Q3 – to find the chef had been killed and partly frozen in liquid nitrogen in the back kitchen.<p>

"Becks! Shut the front door! What are you doing here?"

Her head full of images of the body, it had taken a moment for Kate to recognise the woman before her. "Maddie?" She hadn't seen Madison Keller since high school. They talked for a few minutes, and she introduced Madison to the boys. Maddie was shocked that Kate had wound up a homicide detective and Kate realised that Madison probably had no idea what had happened to Johanna Beckett.

Kate could admit that maybe she'd been a bit jealous when Madison and Castle had met. Just a tiny bit. Maddie was blond, smart, outgoing and drop dead gorgeous. Exactly Castle's type.

As they finished going over the scene, Kate couldn't help but notice that Maddie and Castle were talking together. A lot. But every time she overheard what they were saying it was about her. Kate didn't know whether to be relieved or worried that Castle only seemed to be interested in getting embarrassing stories about her high school exploits from the restaurant manager.

They tracked down the other staff and interviewed them back at the station. When they had a lead about a possible romantic entanglement, they went back to the restaurant to get more details on a regular customer from Madison. Esposito and Ryan were already there, doing a follow-up interview with the sous-chef.

When they asked Maddie how she was holding up, Kate wasn't surprised to hear she was feeling overwhelmed. She spoke about a charity dinner she had to go to the next night. "Why don't you come with me Becks? It'll be like old times, give us a chance to re-connect."

"I don't know Mads. With the investigation ongoing…"

"Go on," interjected Castle. "I'm sure we can handle it for one night, and we'll call you with any developments. You deserve a night off."

"Oh and we should get ready together! Just like old times." Madison was giving her a bright smile, and Kate was forcefully reminded of years together in high school, giggling together in her bedroom about boys, doing each other's make-up. It seemed an easier time, before college and her mother and joining the force. Kate was suddenly hit with the urge to go back that simpler time, even if just for a night.

"Okay," she smiled. "Sounds great." And maybe it was the flirty looks that Madison and Castle had been exchanging, or maybe she was still caught up in the memory of her mother laughing as she discovered Madison and Kate had stolen her make-up again, but for some reason her brain momentarily disconnected from her mouth and she added, "Why don't you come around and get ready at our place?"

Ryan and Esposito, men of impeccable timing at any moment it didn't suit her, appeared at her elbow with their eyebrows in their hairline, and Kate realised they'd heard every word. Especially that last sentence.

"Well, I see we do have a lot to catch up on." Madison said as she strolled away.

Castle's grin was so big, Kate didn't know how it could fit on his face.

"Where are we with the sous-chef?" she asked pointedly, doing her best to avoid the room's occupants.

_Our place._ What on Earth had possessed her?

* * *

><p>There was a knock at the door. "Kate, Madison's here." Castle shouted a moment later. She heard the door open as she headed down the stairs. Madison was coming through the open front door, a dress bag in one hand and what Kate assumed was a make-up bag in the other. She was giving Castle a strange look. Kate supposed that if you didn't know Castle, him answering the door in an apron, elbow high, bright red industrial gloves and safety goggles would look odd.<p>

"Hey Maddie," Kate said as she made her way over to the door. "Come in. Meet Castle's mother, Martha Rodgers. Martha, this is Madison Keller, a high school friend of mine."

"Charmed," said Martha, arising regally from the couch and holding an outstretched arm to Madison.

"Martha Rodgers," gushed Madison. "I'm a huge fan. I saw you play Fantine in _Les Miserables_ and I sobbed my eyes out when you died. You were robbed of that Tony."

"Well, my dear, you can come around any time." Martha replied.

Kate and Madison laughed as Kate led Maddie over to the stairs. "Come and meet Alexis. I invited her to get ready with us, since she's got a hot date tonight." She made sure to speak loudly enough for her voice to carry to Castle, who was in the kitchen dropping anything he could get his hands on into a vat of liquid nitrogen and then smashing them on the floor.

"My daughter does not have a hot date, Katherine Beckett. She has deserted me to dine this evening with a boy, whom she may permit to chastely hold her hand after many more such dinners." Castle shouted up the stairs at their retreating figures. He dunked an apple into the liquid nitrogen. "Not a date," they could hear him mumbling to himself as they ascended the stairs. There was a crash, and then a gleeful laugh as the apple smashed on the floor.

* * *

><p>"So, that's certainly a nice place you share with Castle. And his mother. And his daughter." Maddie was smirking.<p>

"It's not like that. I'm just staying with him since my apartment blew up." Kate wasn't surprised that her living arrangements were Madison's first topic when they got to the charity dinner.

"Blew up! Oh my gosh, Becks, are you ok? What happened? Was it someone you sent to jail?"

"I'm fine. But my apartment and most of my stuff was destroyed. And it was a stalker who was obsessed with Nikki Heat."

"Nikki Heat? You mean Rick's book _is_ based on you? I'll definitely have to read it now."

"You should, it's really good." Kate blushed. "Please don't tell Castle I said that."

"So you've been staying at Rick's since the explosion? He must feel terrible about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he wrote the book that made the guy stalk you, right? He must feel responsible for that."

"It's not his fault," Kate said with a frown. That wasn't true, was it? Castle wasn't letting her stay with him out of some misguided sense of guilt, right? What if he wanted her to leave, but was too polite to say anything?

Wait. Castle, too polite? Yeah right.

Still, "You think he's just letting me stay with him because he feels sorry for me?" Kate asked.

"Please, Becks." If Madison wasn't every inch the lady, Kate might have called the noise she made a snort. "That man feels a lot of things for you, but sorry isn't one of them."

Kate blushed. "It's not –" she started, but was cut off by Madison again.

"Deep love, devotion, all-consuming physical attraction, burning desire and an immense need to have little Beckett babies? Yes. Pity? No." Madison grinned cheekily at her, and took advantage of her momentary distraction to steal a forkful of black truffle and mushroom risotto off Kate's plate. "Mmmm" she moaned. "I have got to poach this chef to replace Wolfe at Q3. This risotto is to die for." Madison paused suddenly, and her face paled.

"How are you really holding up?" Kate asked sympathetically.

A look of pain graced Madison's features. "It doesn't seem real, you know? At first I was just overwhelmed with everything: an announcement to the press, telling the other staff, interviewing chefs. Now I just miss my friend. I don't know how you deal with this every day Becks. All joking aside, I'm glad you have someone like Rick around to help you through it."

* * *

><p>Over the next few days the evidence had come together and they were able to arrest Wolfe's foster brother for his murder. Kate was glad to be able to tell Madison the truth about who had killed her friend and allow her to move on. But as she and Castle left the precinct that night and over dinner, Castle had been asking a lot of questions about Maddie. Did Madison have a boyfriend? What kind of guy did Kate think she would like? Kate began to worry that he was growing more interested in her high school friend.<p>

* * *

><p>"Ready to go, Alexis?" Kate asked as she descended the stairs. It was the first Saturday morning she had off in weeks and she and Alexis had planned to go out for a coffee before Kate continued her apartment hunting.<p>

"Sure." Alexis almost seemed to bounce up off the couch.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kate asked Castle as he too stood from the couch.

"Coffee?" said Castle.

"Not a chance, dad. Girls only coffee time." Alexis replied.

"But I've done all my chapters! I've sent the manuscript to Black Pawn already."

"We'll then you can start on Nikki number three. Or get the boys around to play Guitar Hero. Or run errands and empty the trash. I don't care what you do, but you can't come to girl's coffee." Kate stated.

"Oh! I'll just grab my purse from my room," Alexis said, dashing up the stairs.

"Thank you for this," Castle whispered quietly when Alexis was out of sight. "Alexis really looks up to you, and I appreciate you doing things with her."

"Alexis is an amazing girl and I enjoy spending time with her. I don't do it for you Castle," Kate replied.

"I know," said Castle, reaching out for a moment and grabbing her hand as she walked by his place on the couch. He squeezed it in gratitude, but whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by Alexis' return.

"Ready," the younger girl stated. Kate linked her arm though Alexis' as they headed to the door.

As Kate closed the door behind them, she heard Castle's voice from within. "Hey, Espo. The girls are deserting me. Wanna come over for some Madden?"

* * *

><p>On first acquaintance, Alexis seemed nothing like her father. She was all responsibility and seriousness, and he was all childishness and self-indulgence. But when you looked closer, you saw Castle's responsibility every time he spoke of his daughter. His childishness became innocent joy. When you looked again at Alexis, you saw her seriousness become devotion to her friends and family, her delight in life, her steadfastness and even the touch of mischief that came out around those she really loved.<p>

When Alexis ordered a white hot chocolate with a shot of vanilla and charmed the barista into giving her extra marshmallows and whipped cream, she was pure Castle.

They sat at a corner table. Just like her father would, Alexis let the detective have the chair with her back to the corner so Kate could see the whole room. As a cop, Kate hated to have her back to anyone. Her years on the force had given her the tough outer shell that made it hard to trust anyone, even in a Starbucks mid-morning on a Saturday.

They split a blueberry muffin, but at first Alexis did nothing by toy with her half.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right Alexis?"

The younger girl nodded.

"I know something has been on your mind lately."

The teenager nodded again.

Kate waited a while, giving Alexis the time she needed. Finally, Kate said, "It's about me staying at the loft, right?"

Alexis nodded, still staring down at the table, and the small pile of crumbs she was slowly shredding the muffin into.

It was just as Kate had feared. Alexis wanted her to leave, but was too polite to say anything. "I am looking for another place. But I don't want to make you or Martha or your father uncomfortable in your own home. If you want, I can go and stay with Lanie until I find somewhere. I'm sure it wouldn't be any trouble."

Alexis looked up suddenly. "Don't go," she said forcefully. She blushed and dropped her head back down to the plate, avoiding Kate's eyes. "I mean, it's not that. Not that I don't want you there." She paused, gathered her courage, took a deep breath. "It's that I don't want you to go. Ever."

The detective was stumped. They were both silent. Finally, Alexis spoke up. "It's so nice having you around. Dad is so happy. And I know you're not my mom or even my step-mom or anything. But you always say the right thing, and you help with my homework, and listen when I need to vent, and you looked up David from my class when he wouldn't leave me alone and you include me in stuff, like with Madison the other day, and don't treat me like a kid, and you take care of me and dad. My mom isn't… I mean, I love my mom. But she's not dependable, or even around really. I mean I'm used to that, she's never been around. I'm doing this all wrong. I knew I would."

She was still staring at the pile of crumbs in her hands, her fingertips blue from the juice of the blueberries she had squashed as she pulled the muffin apart. Her long red hair hung around her like a curtain and hid her face. As Kate watched, a tear drop landed in the remains of the blueberry muffin, making the softest of noises as it hit the plate. Kate's heart broke.

"Alexis," Kate said, but then fell silent. She had no idea what to say. She took a napkin from the table. Reaching forward, she grabbed Alexis' hands and gently wiped the blueberry stains from them. Then she held both of the teenagers hands in her left hand. She brought her right hand up to Alexis' chin and slowly tilted her head up. As gently as she could, she brushed the tears from her cheeks. She dropped her right hand so that both of Alexis' hands were covered by hers.

"I can't replace your mother," Kate started, haltingly. So much rested on her getting this right, saying the right thing. "But whether I live with you and your dad, or not, I will be there for you. Anytime you need. Always."

"But you'll stay? For now?"

"For now," Kate agreed.

* * *

><p>With Alexis' words ringing in her ears, apartment hunting that afternoon was a complete bust. Kate was worried that she was subconsciously comparing every place she looked at to the loft. And not only could she not afford even the front hall closet of a place like the loft, but a lot of the attractions of her current accommodations had more to do with the people she shared it with than the high ceilings, central location and beautiful architraves.<p>

She loved Martha swanning in 'first thing' on a Saturday (at mid-afternoon) to run lines for a rehearsal, or regaling them with boisterous show tunes and Broadway stories over a wine in the evening. She loved driving Castle nuts by practising French with Alexis so he couldn't understand a word (but was still convinced they were talking about him). She loved being the one Alexis came to with her boy dramas and plans for the future. She loved talking about their day over the dinner table and making plans for the weekend and the look on Castle's face on a rare quiet evening when Alexis fell asleep on the couch with her head in his lap. She loved them all for unreservedly allowing her into their lives. She loved the feeling of having a family. Of belonging. She loved Castle for giving it to her.

How could a six floor, walk-up, cramped studio apartment ever compare?

* * *

><p>The maid found the body when she started work at 7, which meant they got the call while they were making breakfast. Castle kissed Alexis goodbye and they headed out. Mindful of their conversation the weekend before, Kate gave Alexis a hug along with her usual "have a good day at school."<p>

Even the techies at the crime scenes had stopped being surprised when they turned up together first thing in the morning. Just a quick, "Morning detective, morning Castle. Hope you had a nice weekend. Let me take you back to Dr Parish."

A quick look around the victim's apartment showed signs of a robbery and Castle suggested they call Demming for help. The two of them seemed to get along pretty well, now that Castle had marked his territory. That should have bothered her more than it did. But she doubted anything would have worked out between her and Demming, and it was kind of fun watching Castle's man-crush on the robbery detective.

Sure enough, Demming _was_ helpful and within days they had found the two murderers. Kate shook her head. As if it wasn't bad enough that one person had hated their vic enough to try and off him, a second person had broken into his apartment to finish the job. The darkness of human nature was unfathomable sometimes.

When Castle asked casually as they were leaving the precinct, "Do you think Madison is free tonight?" Kate nearly bit his head off.

"What am I, her social calendar? Ask her yourself." She tried, but couldn't completely contain the bitterness from her voice. This was Brent Edwards from junior year all over again.

"I think we should set her up with Demming."

"What?" Kate asked incredulously. She took a moment to feel relieved that Castle wasn't planning on making a move on her high school friend. "That's why you've been asking all these questions about her? Maddie and Demming?"

"Why did you think I was asking?" Kate avoided his eyes. "You thought I-? But I thought we- I mean…" he trailed off. That was a bit too much honesty for where they were right now. "It's just Demming was saying the other day, how every girl he's met lately has been a thief or murderer, and Maddie seems nice. They're both fun, affable…I thought it might work."

"Richard Castle, closet matchmaker, huh?" Honestly, who said 'affable' anymore? Sometimes that man sounded like an Austen novel. But the more she thought about it, the more it actually made sense. Maddie had mentioned the other night how hard it was to meet nice guys in New York. They both worked a lot, sure, but they were driven, vivacious people. Maddie was going to go nuts for Demming's dimples.

Maybe Castle was onto something. She and Castle had planned a burger and beers with the boys this Friday. Maybe they could invite Lanie and get Ryan to bring Jenny, and then invite Maddie and Demming and see what happened.

* * *

><p>Esposito and Ryan recounted their work on the latest case for Madison, Jenny and Lanie. Although Kate was pretty sure their version of an eight block suspect chase, which somehow involved helping an old lady cross the road, saving a kitten, and turning over a fruit stall ("every great chase has a fruit stall," Castle had sagely agreed) was talking poetic licence to the extreme.<p>

"So we turned into the blind alley-" Ryan said.

"And this guy realises here is where he makes his stand," Esposito continued.

So I look over at Espo-"

"And we both know, no matter no matter the risk, we gotta take this guy down."

Kate felt a tug on her sleeve, and turned to Castle.

"Thread," he whispered, holding up a loose thread he had taken off her sleeve.

She smiled back at him and gestured her head slightly toward their fellow detectives at the table, rolling her eyes as she heard Espo saying, "so with no thought to his own safety, Ryan flies through the air toward this guy…"

Castle inclined his head just slightly at Jenny, sitting in the booth next to Ryan, and looking at him with a kind of wonder. The writer shrugged and gave her a 'can you blame him' eye brow lift.

She couldn't believe the boys were trying to use the job to get laid. From the look on Jenny's face she thought the more amazing thing was that it actually looked like it was going to work. Esposito had been trying to make the moves on Lanie lately and she and Castle had a bet on how long it was going to take. She looked over at the medical examiner to see how she was reacting to the story, and the incredulity on Lanie's face actually made her laugh. Castle's eyes followed hers a second later and then he was guffawing right beside her. At the look that Ryan and Esposito shot them, the laughter only doubled. For a moment, Kate thought she was in danger of falling out of the booth.

Before anyone could ask what was so funny, Castle stopped laughing abruptly. He looked in wonderment at the thread in his fingers. "Oh," he breathed.

She knew that look. Kate delved into her bag for a moment and pulled out a pen.

"What's the joke, bro?" said Esposito. When he realised the writer was staring off behind them, he turned in the booth, to try and see what Castle was looking at. Ryan turned too, but Castle was staring unseeingly into the distance.

"Nikki," Castle breathed this time, and, pulling one of the napkins on the table top toward him, he took the pen from Kate with a quick smile of gratitude.

"He's been like this a lot lately," Kate supplied. "Apparently, Nikki keeps getting stuck in sticky situations at the worst of times." She rolled her eyes. Castle had filled the napkin with his tight scrawl and was turning it over to write on the back. Kate slid him a beer mat as he rapidly ran out of room on the back of the napkin.

"I take it book two of the Nikki series is going well?" Lanie asked, as Castle gathered anything with a writable surface from the table.

"Book two is in for editing actually. This is book three." Kate said, idly looking over Castle's shoulder. Kate was pretty sure that was a Venn diagram on one beer mat and he was now drawing a murder board on another.

"What's this one called?" Ryan asked. "_Dangerous Heat?" _he suggested.

"Oh I like it," said Esposito. "How about _Explosive Heat?_"

"_Toxic Heat,_" continued Ryan.

"_Miami Heat."_

"_Federal Heat."_

"_Dead Heat."_

"Nah, too morbid, man. How about _Heat Stroke."_

"Nice, bro. _Heat Rash._"

"Eww. Sounds like Nikki caught something," Ryan said.

Kate broke in. "Knowing Black Pawn_,_ they probably wanted to call it _In Heat_ or something." Castle twitched slightly. "Oh my God, they really did, didn't they?"

"It was just a suggestion," Castle defended.

"Castle," his name was a growl, a warning.

"I said no! Now shhh, Nikki has to figure out how to get away from the tiger." His brow furrowed.

"Tiger? Really? Who's going to buy that?"

Castle flicked his wrist as though brushing aside her doubts and continued writing.

"Kevin lent me _Heat Wave_ to read. It was fantastic, Rick. I'm looking forward to the second." Jenny said. "Have you read it, Madison?"

"Rick sent me a copy after Wolfe-" she broke off, looking sad once more at the memory of her friend's murder. "But with re-opening the restaurant I haven't had a chance to read it yet." She flashed a smile at the tall detective sitting beside her. "How about you, Tom?"

"One of the boys mentioned it after my first case with these two. It certainly cleared a few things up." Demming replied.

"What does that mean?" Kate asked.

"I mean that it certainly helps explains your….dynamic."

Kate opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Castle, who obviously hadn't been paying attention to the conversation going on around him. He looked over at Kate, brow creased in thought. "When we get home, can you tie me up?" he asked.

Lanie, let out a choking noise as she struggled not to spray the beer in her mouth over the occupants opposite her in the booth. Esposito took the opportunity to pat her on the back and then casually left his arm on the booth behind Lanie's shoulders.

"Castle!" Kate barked.

"What?" He replayed in his mind what he had just said. "Not like that! For research purposes. I can't work out how Nikki is going to free herself to get away from the bad guy. Normally I'd get Alexis to do it, but I think she feels sorry for me, and goes easy on the knots."

"If Nikki was captured, wouldn't she have her cuffs? Why wouldn't the bad guy use them? Maybe when you get home you should get Kate to handcuff you to something nice and solid." Lanie suggested with a smirk. Esposito and Ryan laughed beside her.

Kate could only glare.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the delay, I've been putting in big hours at the hospital lately so not much writing time. I'm also quite nervous about posting this chapter. It's quite different to the previous chapters and I'm not sure if it works. I would really appreciate if you could give feedback. Feel free to tell me if you don't like it, it's the only way I'll improve. Thanks.

* * *

><p>Today was not Kate Beckett's day. She'd woken to her alarm only a few hours after she'd fallen into bed, with a crick in her neck from sleeping wrong and bad case of the Wednesdays. She was exhausted from their case, every muscle ached, her throat was scratchy like she was coming down with something and the weekend seemed like a distant mirage.<p>

Lying in bed, she'd decided to wear the green shirt she'd got while shopping with Lanie last summer. It always got compliments (and more than a few once-overs), and today she needed the confidence boost. Then she remembered that her green shift, along with almost her entire wardrobe, was nothing but ashes.

She stubbed her toe on the end of her bed as she made her way to the bathroom, and then she'd run out of her body wash in the shower and had to use some of Castle's (she had no idea why it was even in the upstairs bathroom she used, when he always showered in the bathroom off his bedroom). But now she smelt like Castle, and someone was going to notice. With the way Castle acted, everyone at the precinct already thought they were a couple _(which has nothing to do with the fact that you still live with him, or the way you've stopped correcting people's assumptions, like Demming, right? _said that annoying internal voice of truth) and showing up with Castle, smelling like him, was not going to help that.

Feeling sorry for herself, she almost stomped down the stairs, before reminding herself at the last moment that she was an adult. Still, she was more than a little petulant as she entered the empty living area. She decided to skip breakfast and head in early. She didn't want to subject any of the Castles to her mood this morning.

She stopped by the safe in Castle's office for her gun, checked she had everything and headed for the front door. At the last moment she realised she should leave a note to explain where she was gone, and headed for the notepad on the kitchen counter.

There, on the kitchen counter was a cup of coffee, a little note saying 'Drink Me' beside it. On the kitchen island were two plates with plastic covers fitted to keep the contents warm, the note of top of one reading 'The Exceptional KB' and the other with 'The Irreplaceable AC'.

"Ooh! Dadcakes!" Kate heard as Alexis came up behind her, reaching for the plate on the right. "Morning, Kate."

"Dadcakes?" Kate questioned, watching as Alexis pulled the lid off her plate to reveal a stack of homemade pancakes topped with chopped strawberries. The teenager reached for a bottle of maple syrup that Kate hadn't noticed was just behind the plates and poured it liberally over the pancakes. "Mmm. S'good," she told Kate around a mouthful, a big smile on her face. She nodded toward the other plate.

Alexis picked up her plate and carried it over to the counter, perching up on a stool, and loading her fork once more. "Dad always made me these when I was sad or grumpy, or for good luck before a test I was worried about." Her brow crinkled slightly as she thought for a moment, "I don't know why he made them today though."

"Does a man need a reason to spoil the lovely ladies in his life?" came Castle's voice as he materialized from the doorway leading to both his office and bedroom. He must have just emerged from the shower, Kate thought. His hair was still wet, his shirt untucked and feet bare. He looked comfortable, and relaxed, and…home, some dim part of her mind realised.

He kissed Alexis on the forehead and then handed Kate the coffee cup she still hadn't picked up from the counter. It stuck Kate in that second that both moves were motivated by a similar emotion. That Castle couldn't kiss her on the forehead in his kitchen in the morning, but somehow, pressing a warm mug of coffee into her hand meant the same thing.

Castle shooed her around to the stool next to Alexis and placed the loaded plate of pancakes before her. "Eat," he commented as he placed the maple syrup and a fork before her. "I've already eaten," he continued when she didn't start.

As she ate, Castle poured himself a coffee and he and Alexis spoke about the summer programs she had applied to. She was wait-listed for NYU and still waiting to hear back from Princeton (and getting increasingly anxious about it). Castle finished his coffee and headed back to his bedroom to finish dressing. Kate barely noticed, toying with her pancakes and caught up in Alexis' words. _I don't know why he made them today though._ But Kate did.

Because the woman who's murder they were investigation had a twenty-two year old daughter, whose world had shattered when Kate had said, "I'm so sorry to tell you".

Because last weekend Kate wanted to wear her mother's earrings, and then remembered they were lost in the explosion.

Because Kate had no home to call her own, almost no possessions, and four hours of sleep last night.

Because Richard Castle would do anything within his power to make one breath of Kate Beckett's life just the smallest bit easier.

So she sat on his stool, at his kitchen counter and ate dadcakes.

And maybe today was Kate Beckett's day after all.

* * *

><p>It seemed to fall back upon her as they walked through the doors of the 12th. The weight of this case. Of knowing that the only thing standing between Madeline Turner and the soul destroying pain of living with her mother's murder unsolved - unresolved - was Kate Beckett. It settled heavy upon her shoulders, bowing her spine.<p>

And then Castle's hand was at her back, lending her his strength.

"You're not doing this alone," he reminded her.

And she loved him for the fact that he didn't promise that she would solve this. She knew that there was a possibility that they couldn't. That this could turn out just like her mother's case. He knew that.

And Richard Castle would not lie to her.

So he would make the one promise he could make, and he would stand beside her, no matter what.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I got trapped in a change room at Macy's by a deranged fan trying to get me to read her Derrick Storm fanfiction?" And he would try and cheer her up in the meantime.

She was still laughing with the elevator doors opened on their floor.

"Morning Beckett, morning Castle," commented Ryan from where he was hunched over a file on his desk, he back to the elevator.

"How did you know it was us?" Castle asked.

"Heard Beckett laughing," which didn't explain how he knew Castle was the one with her. But Ryan had said it like it was obvious, without even lifting his eyes from his paperwork. And maybe it _was_ obvious. Whether it was the fact that they had arrived together most mornings for the last month, or the fact that Castle was the only one who would be able to make her laugh in the middle of a case like this, a detective like Ryan could put the facts together.

Esposito emerged from the break room with coffee for himself and Ryan, and nodded in greeting. Soon she and Castle were crowded into her desk, files spread around them, the murder board before them brimming with the facts of the case.

Celia Turner had been just an ordinary bakery owner. She had raised her daughter alone since her divorce six years ago. The ex-husband wasn't even in the state when the murder occurred, so he was ruled out early. She had one loving daughter who was studying political science at NYU. She did not gamble, was not in financial trouble, did not have a violent ex-boyfriend or mob ties or a drug habit. No one in her life had a criminal past. She worked every day at the bakery she co-owned with a friend. Her speciality was cupcakes that looked like characters from Sesame Street.

When they talked to Anna, her co-owner at the bakery, she said Celia was nice, but kept to herself since she found out her husband was cheating on her. She'd drifted away from the friends she had when she was married, too much of a reminder of the loss of her husband, and the worthlessness she'd felt at the knowledge of his infidelity. Anna sometimes worried that the bakery was too much for Celia, and they had talked about selling the business. Neither Anna nor Madeline Turner could think of any reason someone would want to hurt Celia.

Someone had tried to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. But there were no signs of forced entry and Celia had been found on the living room floor. Which most likely meant she knew her killer well enough to not only open the door to him, but also to invite him in. There were no signs on Celia's body of a struggle. The first knife wound was shallow, as though the killer had hesitated, then plunged the knife in again. The room had been trashed, to look like a robbery, but a number of items of value had been left in plain sight. In fact, as far as they knew, nothing was even missing.

Kate had lost track of time completely when she felt a hand at her elbow, trying to get her to stand. She realised she was staring sightlessly at the murder board, her brain desperate for any clue that could help solve this case.

The tugging at her elbow became more insistent. "What, Castle?" there was an undertone of annoyance to her voice, which he ignored.

"Lunchtime," Castle replied, tugging again.

"It's-" she started to say 'too early' and then caught sight of the clock on her desk. 1:46pm. Had she had anything to drink this morning? "Yeah, ok." She stood and replaced the marker that she had been absently twirling on the shelf at the bottom of the murder board and let Castle drag her to the break room.

Ryan and Esposito were already in there. They must have just gotten back, Kate thought. "Neighbours were a bust," Esposito said. Kate had sent them to re-canvass the apartment building, since a few of the neighbours had been absent when they had done the initial round after Celia Turner had been found. It had been a long shot, but Kate was still disappointed. They needed a break on this case or it was going to go cold fast.

It looked like the boys had picked up lunch for all of them on the way back. She realised she had Castle to thank for that when she saw a foot-long sub with her favourite fillings and a bag with cookies. Ryan and Esposito sat at one side of the break room table and began to unwrap their lunch. Castle passed her a knife, and Kate cut their sub into two, keeping the smaller third and placing the other two-thirds in front of the seat next to her. Castle rummaged in the fridge for two bottles of water and passed one to her as he sat at the table. She raised an eyebrow at him when he reached for the bag of cookies, and looked pointedly at his sandwich. He gave her a sheepish smile and put the cookies back down.

"So," asked Ryan tentatively, "any leads while we were gone?"

"Not yet," said Castle, trying for optimism. The silence settled awkwardly in the room. She realised no one wanted to talk about anything other than the case in front of her.

"I really appreciate your hard work on this one," she made sure to make eye contact with each of the three men in the room. And Kate really meant it. From the way they had come in early and stayed late, to the way they had said 'Celia Turner' and never 'the victim'. She didn't want them to feel like they had to walk on eggshells around her, but she valued the extra lengths they had gone to on this case, and knew it had been for her.

There were echoes of "anytime", "no worries" and "always" around the table. They fell into the kind of comfortable silence that ensues when hungry people start eating good food, broken by the crinkle of the paper bags as the boys started in on the cookies.

Esposito's cell rang and he spoke for a minute. Kate wasn't paying much attention, until he looked over at her. "Really," he was saying. "So if she could convince the daughter to sell…" He paused as the person on the other end spoke. "Sounds like motive to me. Thanks JR, I owe you one, man." He hung up.

"So, I got a buddy of mine to do a little digging. The financials at the bakery looked good, right? Well, JR found that the bakery had been used to secure a loan. Based on that he was able to do a bit more searching. Turns out the bakery co-owner, Anna Stewart was having financial troubles. The only way to solve them would have been to sell the bakery. I'm guessing she put that to Celia, who wasn't interested. But in the event of her death, all Anna would need to do is convince Madeline to sell."

"And what would a political science major do with a bakery? It wouldn't be too hard to convince a student to sell the business, she wouldn't have been able to pay the overheads anyway. The bakery would be nothing without Celia," Ryan continued.

Kate could feel the tension building in the room, as the three detectives and one writer leant forward in their chairs. This could finally be the break they had been looking for.

"But Anna had an airtight alibi for the time of the murder," Castle interjected. "The surveillance video shows her sitting in the restaurant with her friends for nearly five hours and the murder occurred right in the middle of that timeframe."

Kate sighed as they all lent back in their chairs. She had thought they were finally getting somewhere, but this was going to be just like her mother's murder. Unsolved, year after year, always filling Madeline Turner's mind. On holidays, birthdays, family occasions, she would not only mourn the loss of her mother, but always have to do so in the knowledge that the killer was still out there, happily living their life, while hers would never be the same again.

_Just like her mother's murder_.

Wait. That was it. "What if she hired someone?" Kate asked. "Isn't it a bit suspicious she had such a perfect alibi? Almost as though she knew what time the murder would occur. I bet if we ring the restaurant we'll find she asked specifically for that table, knowing she would be seen by not only a restaurant full of witnesses, but a camera with a timestamp if she sat right there."

"But how would she pay the hit? She's broke," Esposito said.

"Maybe she made a deal with the guy. He gets his cut once she sells the bakery and the heat dies down."

"Is the bakery really worth that much? To pay off Anna's debt, and the hit?" Ryan asked.

"JR is sending though financials," Esposito said. "I can get an appraisal off him, too."

Castle sat up straight in his chair suddenly. Kate saw he had his 'storyteller' look.

"If I were writing this," he started cautiously, waiting for Kate's nod before proceeding. "Anna is the femme fatale. She finds just the right man, a little desperate, a little dangerous, completely devoted, even obsessed. She ensnares him, entangles him so tightly in the chains of irresistible desire that he is captive to her every will. And then she spins a tale of woe, her desperation, her hopelessness. The only way they can be together is if he does this one despicable thing. Only he can save her.

"So he goes to Celia's apartment. She knows him, he is Anna's boyfriend. He says he needs help with something. Maybe he wants to propose to Anna and surely Celia, Anna's friend will have advice on a ring. He wants to get this right. They have to be together.

"She lets him in. He doesn't want to hurt her. But it's the only way he can be with Anna. They have to be together. He thrusts the knife toward her chest, but there is so much blood. He hesitates before the knife goes too deep.

"He is shaking. What has he done? The Celia, shocked for a moment, gathers herself. She screams at the pain, brings her arm to the wound in her chest. He has to silence her! Someone will hear. If she lives, he can never be with Anna. Celia brings her arms up to stop him, but she is weak from the blood loss and he swats her ineffective arms away. He plunges the knife deep into her chest. He remembers what Anna said, to make it look like a robbery. He trashes the room but he can't think straight, and forgets to steal anything. He's already been there too long. He leaves to go back to Anna. Now nothing can stop them from being together forever."

It doesn't take long to investigate. Madeline tells them that there is no way her mother would even contemplate giving the bakery up, despite Anna saying that things were getting too much for Celia and they were thinking about selling. One of the girls who works weekends in the bakery leads them to Anna's supposed boyfriend. He cracks easily in interrogation and babbles about how he and Anna are soulmates. That he had to do it. They were made to be together.

Beckett sits down with Madeline Turner, and gives her the answers that Kate has never received. She gives Madeline her cell number too, and the promise that she is there whenever the younger woman needs.

After dinner, when Alexis has gone up to her room to study, Kate cries in Castle's arms for the unjust world that takes mothers away from daughters who need them so desperately. She cries from the relief that she has closed this case, that she has done everything in her power to ease Madeline's pain, that the young woman will never have to wonder. She cries for the closure that she has never gotten.

Castle doesn't patronise her, and tell her that it will all be ok. But he holds her, and it almost feels like it will be.

In the morning, there are Dadcakes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Thanks so, so much to everyone for your encouragement and reviews! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, after I was so worried about posing it. You're all wonderful. Sorry for the delay on this, hope you enjoy.

* * *

><p>"DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN-DA-DUN-DUN-DA-DUN" blasted the cell on the coffee table.<p>

The Imperial March from _Star Wars_? Really?

Castle didn't move toward his phone. "Aren't you going to get that?" Kate asked from her position on the couch next to Alexis.

"Nope," said Castle, from the armchair beside them. He looked briefly over at the phone and then tried to distract them by speaking over the top of the ringtone. "Now, Alexis have you made any decisions about your classes for this summer program yet?" The phone continued to ring.

"Who are you avoiding now?" Kate asked, reaching Alexis over for the phone.

"Nah ah," said Castle as he snatched up the phone.

Kate held up her thumb and forefinger in her classic ear-pinching formation.

"Apples!" Castle cried, his hand moving up to cover his ear even though she was almost the whole length of the couch away from him. The cell dropped into his lap and finally stopped ringing. "Okay, no need for the torture. It's Gina," he mumbled.

Kate hid her smirk. That explained having Darth Vader's theme as a ringtone. "I thought you said that you handed in your manuscript for the second book last week."

"I did!"

"And you've already done the plot outline for book three."

"I have!"

"Then why is Gina calling you?"

"Ahh-"

"Castle, did you lie to me?"

"_Naked Heat _really _is_ done! It's in second round edits."

"Wait. Did you just say, _Naked Heat?" _There was pure venom in Kate Beckett's voice.

"I tried to talk them out of it!" Castle sprung from his chair. "Escape while you can, Alexis. But don't look directly in her eyes or you'll be petrified," he whispered to his daughter as he backed across the room, stooping his shoulders to make himself a smaller target.

"She's naked on the cover again, isn't she?"

"Alexis, if I don't survive, remember I'll always love you." His back was flat against the living room wall. There was no escape.

"Great. No one is going to make fun of me," Beckett sarcastically replied, bringing her hands up to cover her face with a low groan.

* * *

><p>The ringing of her cell jarred her abruptly from a pleasant dream. Her hand fumbled for the phone on the nightstand even as her bleary eyes tried to focus on the digital display of the clock. 04:24 Why couldn't murderers keep more civilised hours?<p>

"Beckett," she yawned. She listened for a moment as dispatch gave the details. Soon she was upright, trying to get her brain to focus on getting dressed. She contemplated whether or not to wake Castle. She'd woken him at ungodly hours for murders before. Of course, that was before she was living in his house, and waking him meant going into his bedroom in the middle of the night.

She made her way down the stairs, and paused before his door, one hand raised to knock. She steeled her spine. She was NYPD homicide detective. She could do this. She left her fist fall to the door in a sharp knock. Her second knock went awry as she was hit but a sudden thought; what if Castle slept naked. Oh! Bad mental image! She was not standing outside his bedroom door at 4:30am picturing him naked.

The door had not been completely closed, and had fallen slightly ajar from her knocking. With the light coming from the office she could see his figure, sprawled face down on the bed, one leg protruding from the blankets.

"Castle," she whispered.

Nothing. She walked in the doorway.

"Castle!" louder this time.

The writer on the bed let out a particularly raucous snore.

She had been unconsciously walking toward the bed as she tried to wake him. Kate reached out tentatively and shook his shoulder slightly. "Castle, there's a body." The snore stopped abruptly.

Castle's left eye cracked open. He didn't seem surprised to see Kate in his bedroom in the middle of the night. "Sleeping, Kate," he mumbled, rolling onto his back.

"No Castle, body in Central Park. We're leaving in five minutes."

"The girlfriend did it," Castle mumbled, closing his eyes again.

Without thinking about her earlier fear that Castle slept naked, Kate reached out and yanked the blankets off him. Thankfully, Castle had boxers on. However, that still left a whole of skin on display. Kate's train of thought trailed off as her still sleep addled brain focused on the definition in her partner's chest, the strong shoulders, narrow hips. When her gaze began to drift below his waist she realized what she was doing and looked up abruptly, only to see his eyes on her, taking in her perusal and, although she couldn't quite make out his features in the dark, she was sure a smirk was gracing his lips. Kate was grateful for the darkness of the room for preventing him (she hoped) from seeing the heated blush that overtook her cheeks.

"Leaving in four minutes," she said as she walked from the room.

* * *

><p>"Oh, caffeine," Kate breathed, as she felt her face light up in an expression of pure bliss at the sight of the Starbucks cup clutched in Castle's hand.<p>

They had spent hours in the Park this morning with the body of a middle aged man, searching for evidence related to his murder. Castle was convinced it was a spy hit. Castle was always convinced it was a spy hit. He said the law of averages would make him right one day. Kate was not holding her breath.

She really, really, needed that coffee.

"One day, you're going to look at me like that," Castle murmured, as Kate took a sip.

She snorted hot coffee.

"Sure, Bro," said Esposito, rolling his eyes as he came up behind them. "Right about when I get my call up to play for the Yankees." He moved toward the murder board Kate was setting up and added more info to the timeline.

Kate managed to swallow the scalding drink and take a few deep breaths. From Castle's wide eyes, Kate didn't think he'd meant to say that out loud. But that still meant he was thinking it.

Before she could lay into Castle the phone on her desk starting to ring. Kate reached behind her, glaring at the writer. "Saved by the bell," she commented as she lifted the phone. "Beckett."

"Hi, Detective. This is Gina Cowell, Rick's publisher."

"Gina. Oh, are you looking for Castle?" Kate replied, turning to give a falsely sweet smile to the writer at her side. So, karma did exist after all, she thought. But when she glanced beside her at where the mystery writer had been moments ago, she was only met by empty air, and a glimpse of the back of his shift as he had bolted for the men's room. He would pay for his desertion later, Kate vowed.

"He seems to have disappeared Gina," Kate said with a vicious look in the direction of the bathrooms. "I'll let him know you called."

"That man would try the patience of a saint," Gina huffed. "Just tell him this book tour is important, and avoiding my calls isn't going to make it go away."

She stared at the phone on her desk for a moment after she hung up. A book tour. That meant leaving. She heard the sound of tentative footsteps behind her, recognising the sound of the gait which had shadowed her every move for over a year now.

"How long?"

"I – they wanted longer but I said, I didn't, I mean…" Castle tapered off. Paused. "Six weeks."

Kate felt the air leave her with a whoosh. Six weeks without him. Six weeks without jokes at breakfast and fighting over radio stations and 'stay in the car, Castle' (though he never did), and bouncing ideas, wild conspiracy theories (spies! Aliens! Zombies!) and splitting chilli cheese fries at Remy's. Some dim part of her brain realised that if they were really 'just partners' she shouldn't be taking this so hard. Six weeks.

"They're pushing up the release of the new book," he was careful not to say the name, now. "So it would be signings and readings for the first Nikki, and publicity for the release of the second. The tour would end back here with the launch of the second book. It seemed like the best time to do it, with Alexis at Princeton for the summer program. But I don't have to. I mean, I-"

"You should do it," Kate surprised herself by saying.

"I should?"

"It would be good for the books, right?" He nodded. For as much as she pretended to hate Nikki and the intrusion into her life the books represented, she felt protective of her literary alter-ego. And if maybe deep down she wanted the books to do well so he wrote more of them, and therefore he shadowed her a little longer, she didn't need to acknowledge that. She paused again. Her eyes darted around the room, but Esposito had gone back to his desk and no one was giving their quiet conversation any notice. She gathered her courage. "You'll come back, right?" She hated the vulnerability and smallness in her voice.

"Always," Castle vowed instantly, leaning forward in his chair, his voice no more than a whisper, but the earnestness clear in every note. "Six weeks, and then I'm right back here, pulling your ponytails."

Kate nodded her acceptance and heard Castle let out a relieved sigh. He fidgeted nervously in his chair for several moments. Just as Kate was about to tell him to spit it out, he finally blurted, "Would you stay at the loft? Alexis will be at Princeton, and I'll be on tour, and Mother will be at Chet's. You could loft-sit for us. It would be doing me a favour, really. I know you were planning to have your cousin and her kids visit in the summer break, but they would be welcome to stay. And your dad too if he…I mean it's your house. Well, you should think of it as your house. I mean that all the time, not just when we're away. 'Cause it is. Your home, I mean." He was babbling now. It was kind of endearing to see the master writer at a loss for words.

They hadn't talked about the fact that she had been staying at the loft for five weeks now. Kate didn't want to bring it up, for fear she would have to leave. She suspected (hoped?) that Castle didn't bring it up because he didn't want her to leave either. Kate still looked at places on the weekend, but it was half-hearted. There weren't many decent places she could afford on her detective's salary and she'd gotten so comfortable with the Rodgers-Castle clan, she was struggling to imagine herself leaving. Alexis leaving for Princeton's summer program was still three and a half weeks away. If she stayed at the loft until then, and for the six weeks they were away, she would be coming up on four months, the longest time she had ever lived with a man except her father.

It was a bit of a stretch to imagine that she was doing him a favour staying there. His building, not surprisingly, had fantastic security. And for all Martha had moved out, she was there every second day to find her lucky blouse or to pick up one of her four pairs of lime green heels. There was no reason for anyone to 'loft-sit'. But it was a nice excuse.

It felt different though to actually _plan_ to stay there. It was one thing to stay at Castle's while she was homeless and looking for a place; that was temporary accommodation with a friend in a time of need. It was something different to agree to stay for months into the future; that was dangerously close to _commitment._

But when she imagined waking up tomorrow it was in her room at the loft. And when she imagined dinner next Friday it was Friday Night Family Dinner, of course, and Alexis and Castles' faces at the table with her. She didn't even want to acknowledge that at the edge of her consciousness there was a shadowy picture of Thanksgiving, Martha, Alexis and Kate's dad sitting with her at the long table in the loft while Castle crafted another of his wacky concoctions in the kitchen.

So, yeah, maybe she had no plans to leave any time soon. But it felt like something different to actually make plans to stay.

But when she looked up at the man sharing her desk, at the hope in his eyes that he couldn't quite disguise, she could only give one answer.

"I'll stay," she promised.

* * *

><p>"Spies!" Castle was almost bouncing in his seat. "Coolest case ever!" He held out his hands for a 'feed the birds' with the detectives.<p>

"A man is dead, Castle," said Kate sternly, ignoring Ryan as he touched hands with Castle behind her back. Boys.

But Kate had to admit, it looked like Castle's 'law of averages' could actually be right. The victim had five thousand euros in his the trunk of his car and all the IDs on his body traced back to a company that didn't exist. They had even found a pen with a voice recording on it that self-destructed as soon as they listened to it. They had a suspect in holding who refused to speak, and Kate kept furtively glancing at Montgomery's office, waiting for him to get a call for some higher jurisdiction government agency kicking them off the case.

When a call did come through it was the manager of the Hotel Regency, telling them he had seen their vic. He had checked in two days ago and never checked out. Castle was positively in raptures at the thought of catching a real life spy killer. The whole way to the hotel, Kate had to listen to his theories. Maybe he was killed by a double agent. Or maybe the vic was actually the double agent. Or maybe the vic was really a triple agent, pretending to be a double agent, and another agent had thought he was really a double agent and iced him. Really_, iced him_? Kate was cutting off his supply of B grade action films if he kept that up.

In the victim's hotel room, they found evidence of a plan to assassinate the minister for banking of the Republic of Luvania. But Luvania didn't exist. That's when they realised the whole thing was an elaborate hoax. The only thing stopping Castle from sliding into complete devastation was the fact that he had been the one to realise it was all fake, and crack the case wide open. _Crack the case wide open?_ Maybe Kate needed to stop watching all those bad movies with Castle.

The investigation eventually lead them to Spy Ventures, a company that made 'spycations'- where people paid to pretend to be FBI or CIA or foreign ambassadors who were kidnapped and interrogated. Looking at Castle's face, Kate thought she had an idea for his Christmas present. Until they came across the vic's financials and saw how much the packages cost. Castle would just have settle for a nice tie in his Christmas stocking.

From there, they managed to follow the trail until the evidence until they had a suspect, the victim's best friend. Unfortunately, he alibied out with one of the worst excuses Kate had heard. "Your alibi for killing your friend was that you were at his house, loudly doing his wife at the time of his murder?" Castle had asked, incredulously. "Wow."

Eventually though they had enough evidence to convict the jealous husband of the woman he was having an affair with. Kate wondered if Castle being half right about this case being related to spies was going to make it stop mentioning the CIA on every murder they investigate. Knowing her luck, he would probably only bring it up more.

* * *

><p>Kate crooned along with the radio, the wooden spoon in her hand becoming an impromptu microphone. She bopped across the room to get the salt from the cupboard, moving with ease around the loft's kitchen. She added a few things she had noticed they were low on to the grocery list and then shuffled back to stir the simmering risotto, singing all the while.<p>

Suddenly she could feel someone watching her. And only one person set of her spidey sense in that particularly blend of exasperated/amused.

"Don't say it, Castle," she warned.

"I wasn't-" he starred, but stopped at her pointed look.

"You were not saying it very loudly."

He mimed zipping his lips and locking them. Amused, Kate held out her hand for the imaginary key. He passed it along to her, laughter dancing in his eyes as Kate tucked the invisible key into the pocket in her jeans.

Kate wasn't sure what had got into her today. But they had a killer behind bars, had left the precinct at a reasonable hour and she had a wonderful place to go home to and dinner with her favourite teenager and writer to look forward to. And maybe all that stuff was temporary. Tomorrow there would be another murder and soon enough she would go back to being homeless and alone again. But for today, it was enough.

She knew was smiling more. She laughed easily. It felt like she was filled with happiness and took just the tiniest drop to make it overflow. She tried to tell herself that it was just her getting back to normal after recovering from the bomb, but she knew she hadn't been this happy even before.

Really, not much had changed. Her mother's murder was still unsolved, she was still single, she still worked long hours at dirty crime scenes, did an obscene amount of paperwork and sometimes, despite her best efforts, couldn't catch the murderer. In fact the only things that had changed were for the worse; now she was also broke and homeless to go along with it all.

She would never admit it to anyone (although she had a sneaking suspicion they all knew anyway) but she suspected Richard Castle was the reason for her smiles. And she was starting to be ok with that.

Caught up in her musings, it took her a moment to notice Castle's proximity. Had he always been standing so close? But no, he was walking toward her, moving in. Why was he…Oh! His hand rested on the jut of her hip, still leaning in. There was less than a foot between them now. He was going to kiss her! _Do something!_ her brain urged. She licked her lips. _Not that! _her brain shouted. _If you don't stop him right now, Richard Castle is going to kiss you._

But did she want to stop him? She had to. It would change everything. Something deep inside her something was telling her that she could not lose this man. And if they started something, and he left, putting herself back together would be long and hard and painful.

So why wasn't she stopping him?

Oblivious to her internal panic, Castle was still leaning into her personal space, applying the slightest bit of pressure to her hip as he….leaned past her? Wait. What?

He reached for the cupboard behind her and opened the door. Was she breathing? Didn't she need to do that? She tried to focus on talking a breath. The writer was so close now she could smell that musky, unique sent that was Castle.

He leant back a second later and then was walking across the room to the wine rack, two of the long stem wine glasses in his hands. Kate felt her heart still pounding in her chest and let out long breath she didn't even know she was holding.

How silly. Of course he hadn't been thinking of kissing her. He just needed something from the cupboard behind her head, and had reached around her to get it. It was foolish of her to think anything else. She turned back to her risotto simmering on the stove and stirred it with perhaps a little a little more vehemence than was needed. She heard Castle pop the cork behind her, and then the sounds of him pouring two glasses.

She hadn't even wanted him to kiss her anyway.

So why did this ache in her stomach feel so much like disappointment?


	6. Chapter 6

Castle was up to something.

Since she found out he could forge her handwriting with relative ease she had attempted to persuade him to assist with paperwork occasionally. And usually it took a great deal of persuasion to get him to quit _Plants vs. Zombies_ and help out.

But this afternoon he had wordlessly pulled half the paperwork stack toward his corner of their desk and started writing. Suspicious, and more than a little worried he was writing page 105 excerpts on all her sixes, she had a quick look when he went to refill their coffee cups, but it was all in order.

She was a detective. She could do the math.

Castle +helpful – any obvious signs of reward = up to something.

The stack of papers from her desk was rapidly diminishing between the two of them. They might actually get out of here at a reasonable time tonight. Even as she thought that, Castle was glancing at his watch. Abruptly she remembered that they had plans for tonight. It was Friday Night Family Dinner, their last one before the summer and Alexis was cooking dinner for them. Castle's motivation was suddenly clear. Alexis' vegetable lasagne was worth doing paperwork for.

Unsure of exactly how late it was, she glanced at her dad's watch on her wrist. She should call her dad this weekend, she mused. They hadn't caught up in a while, and once she and Castle dropped off Alexis at Princeton tomorrow and he left Sunday for the start of the book tour she would be alone for the summer. It would be nice to have a dinner with her dad to look forward to.

Shaking off her thoughts, she signed the bottom of the now complete page. The rest of this could wait until after the weekend. Family dinner was a lot more appealing.

"Ready?" she asked the writer.

He dropped the pen in his hand like it might bite him. "God, yes. I know when I was growing up all I wanted to do was write for a living, but this is not what I had in mind."

Kate laughed. "Thank you," she said, meaning it.

He gave her an 'it's nothing' hand-wave as added his form to her pile.

"We're heading home," she said to the boys as they stood from her desk.

She knew Castle had already said his goodbyes to everyone when they had had a drink in the break room with them after they had closed the case this afternoon, before Montgomery had reminded them that the leaning tower of paperwork on their desks was not going to fill itself in.

But when she announced they were leaving the boys still stood and the three of them did that awkward male posturing thing for a moment. Honestly, why didn't guys just hug? They clearly wanted to, but all they did was stand self-consciously for a moment and then slap each other's backs.

Kate caught Castle's subtle (or so he probably thought) head tilt in her direction as he 'fed the birds' with the two detectives. She would bet her 401K that he had spoken to the boys earlier about looking out for her while he was away (as though she was the one in their partnership who needed keeping an eye on). Still, she would admit that it gave her a warm kind of feeling in her bones that Castle cared enough to ask. With everything that had happened after her mom died, it was nice that someone wanted to take care of her (even if she didn't need it).

Once Castle had said his goodbyes they headed toward to elevator. "See you Monday," she called to the other detectives, grateful for a rare weekend off.

* * *

><p>Castle was up to something.<p>

Ok, so the last time she thought he was up to something, it was only a few hours ago (so she had a suspicious mind; it came with being a homicide detective) and it had turned out to be nothing. But now they were in the elevator headed up to the loft and Castle was fidgeting.

Castle + nervous, in the presence of Kate Beckett = up to something.

(She was beginning to think this was an equation were both sides cancelled out and could be reduced to 'Castle = up to something'. She could call it Beckett's Theorem.)

He was trying to hide it, but he had checked the time on both his watch and his phone since they got in the elevator, and he was fidgety and avoiding eye contact. Considering they were just going home to dinner with his daughter, there was no reason for him to be nervous.

Hence, up to something.

The smells of garlic, tomato and cheese assaulted her nose the moment Castle opened their front door. She closed her eyes for a moment and almost moaned.

"Smells wonderful," Castle said as he made his way to the kitchen and hugged Alexis.

"Thanks, dad. Chop this for the salad," she continued, thrusting a cucumber at him. "Hi, Kate. How was your day? Dad said you guys caught the bad guy?"

"Yep. And no matter what he says, we could have done it without him." Kate looked over at Castle, who smirked at her as he snuck at a piece of cucumber.

"That's for the salad, Dad," said Alexis disapprovingly. "If you're going to eat everything, I'll demote you to table setting duties."

"I can do that, Alexis," said Kate as she moved to the cutlery drawer.

"No!" said Alexis sharply. "I mean…uh…Dad should be punished for his actions. He can set the table. You should…relax," she finished lamely.

Hmm. Whatever Castle was up to, Alexis was in on it.

Castle began getting things out for the table, but Kate quickly noted there was too much for just the three of them. Were other people coming to dinner? Martha, maybe? She remembered Castle speaking to the doorman for a moment when they left in the morning. Letting him know that they would have visitor? Who was coming? And why was Mike the morning doorman allowed to know when Kate wasn't?

She was distracted from that line of thought when there was a knock on the door. Castle and Alexis were looking at her expectantly. "Uh, I'll get it?" Kate said.

Of all the people Kate briefly considered could be joining them for Family Dinner, Jim Beckett was not one of them. Yet, he stood poised at the threshold when she opened the door, a square bundle wrapped in brown paper and tied with string carried under his left arm.

"Hey Katie," he said, moving in through the door she was holding open in shock and then putting his right arm around to hug her. Her arms came up to hug him automatically, even as her mind whirled. Castle must have invited him, but why?

She realized her dad had moved away from her, and was looking at her strangely. Recovering from her shock, she gathered her manners and led him further in the room. "Dad, this is Richard Castle. Castle, this is my dad, Jim Beckett."

"Nice to meet you in person, Sir," said Castle, moving forward to shake Jim's hand. _In person. So they spoke on the phone, then. How often? _Kate thought. And how did he get her dad's number? When would he have even had the time to call? They spent all their time together these days. And she would have noticed something as important as Castle phoning her father.

"Thanks for inviting me, Rick," Jim replied. _Rick?_ Kate thought. Since when were her dad and her…Castle… on a first name basis?

"And this is my daughter, Alexis," Castle continued when Kate seemed too distracted to make the introduction.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr Beckett." Alexis smiled brightly at Jim, and Kate could practically see her father's heart melt. Alexis _was_ pretty irresistible, Kate thought with a burst of pride.

"You too, Miss Castle. Katie has told me a lot about you."

"Oh," said Alexis is surprise. She looked over at Kate and smiled shyly before turning again to Jim. "Please call me Alexis."

"Only if you call me Jim," Kate's father replied.

"Can I get you a drink, Jim?" Castle offered.

"You can call me Mr Beckett, Rick," said Jim, giving Castle the look Kate had years ago dubbed 'the boyfriend glare'.

"Dad," Kate hissed, glaring.

But Castle was laughing. He started to ask again, but was interrupted by another knock at the front door.

Who else had he invited? Kate's only other family was her cousin Maggie and her kids. At this point, she somehow wouldn't have been surprised if they walked through the door.

But it was Martha who sashayed through the front door, Chet in her wake. "Evening, darlings," she said as she kissed Castle on the cheek.

Only Martha, Kate mused as she watched the matriarch work the room, could pair hot pink and lime green together in one ensemble, and somehow mark it look regal. It was something in her air, Kate decided. Still Kate was glad Alexis had been able to lend her some clothes in the first few days after the explosion. Somehow Kate didn't think she could pull it off.

"Chet," said Castle with a nod. "Mother," he returned the kiss. "Since when do you knock?"

"Really, Richard. I believe it is courteous to knock when arriving at a dinner party. Alexis, darling," she continued as she glided into the kitchen and hugged the teenager. "This all looks wonderful," she told her granddaughter sweeping her hands theatrically to incorporate the kitchen. Martha made her way over to Kate, and, to the detective's surprise, hugged her tightly. "Lovely to see you again, Kate," she said.

"Thank you, Martha. And thank you for coming," Kate replied. "Even if I had no idea you were," she continued with a glance at Castle, who threw his hands up in surrender, grinning. "This is my father, Jim Beckett. Dad, this is Castle's mother, Martha Rodgers, and her boyfriend Chet Pallaburn."

"Lovely to meet you, Jim," said Martha warmly, grasping one of Jim's hands in between both of hers. "You have a wonderful daughter. We hope she never leaves," she smiled impishly at Kate.

Kate didn't quite know how to reply to that, so she settled for avoiding eye contact with everyone and watching as Chet and Jim greeted each other and shook hands.

"Now, Mother, Chet, Mr Beckett, what can I get you to drink?" Castle asked. Kate looked between her father and Castle for a moment. But she knew Castle, trusted him enough to know that he wouldn't do anything to put her father in an awkward situation. "We have sparkling grape juice, cider and almost every conceivable flavour of soda."

Kate wondered for a minute if Martha would say something about the lack of wine on offer, since the actress usually had a glass (or two) with dinner. But Castle had obviously pre-warned her, because the matriarch simply replied. "Oh, that sparkling grape juice would be lovely. Red, of course."

* * *

><p>The lasagne had been rich and delicious, the garlic bread crisp and buttery and the tossed salad was appetizing despite Castle's pilfering of the raw ingredients. Castle waved away Kate's attempts to help as he collected their plates and took them into the kitchen. Alexis carried a chocolate cheesecake over to the table.<p>

"That looks lovely, Alexis," said Jim with a smile.

"Chocolate cheesecake was my mom's favourite," Kate said.

"I know," said Alexis. "Jim mentioned it, and I thought…" the teenager trailed off, biting her lip.

Kate stopped breathing for a second. Just knowing that Alexis had made this on purpose, to bring a little piece of Johanna Beckett to their family dinner, made her heart swell. Overcome, she could only manage a small, "Thank you" and a fierce hug, but from the way that made Alexis' face light up, Kate knew the teenager realised just how much it meant to her.

Throughout the dinner there was a lightness in Kate's spirit that she hadn't felt since before the explosion. Here was her family, gathered around the one table, a table filled with love and laughter and real joy. Yes, Kate had been devastated at the loss of so many important things from her life. But she could buy more things. What she had here was irreplaceable. She slid her hand from where it rested in her lap and reached out to touch Castle's thigh softly to get his attention. He looked over at her, surprised. She squeezed lightly in gratitude, and for a moment, she simply looked at him, and let every emotion she felt for this man beside her show. "Thank you," she whispered, moving her hand off his thigh. Before she could bring her hand back to her lap the back of his hand bumped hers, and then his fingers were threading through hers, their joined hands coming to rest once more on his leg.

"Anytime," he whispered back, and it sounded like a promise.

Kate looked back up the table to see her dad looking at them. She willed herself not to blush. Luckily, everyone else was distracted.

As everyone groaned over their full stomachs, Alexis collected their empty bowls to take to the kitchen and Castle suggested everyone might be more comfortable on the couches. Kate and Castle's joint hands untangled as they stood. As Castle passed her father on the way to the lounge, Kate heard her dad say to Castle, "I think you better call me Jim."

Kate and Alexis made quick work of stacking the dishwasher and then joined the others in the lounge. Martha was regaling them all with another story from her work on Broadway. Alexis took the remaining seat on the couch next to her grandmother and Kate sat in the armchair that was free.

After a moment there was a lull in conversation and Kate took the opportunity to speak up. "Thank you all so much for coming tonight. It's been wonderful." That sounded completely insufficient for everything she was feeling, but Castle was the one who had a way with words. Kate wished she could say something to tell them all how much this meant to her, but suspected they knew it anyway.

Kate noticed Castle and her father exchange a nod. "Actually, Katie-girl, there's something else," Jim said.

He took the wrapped parcel she remembered him arriving with earlier and gave it to her. Kate looked at him in confusion for moment. It wasn't her birthday, or a special occasion, so why the present? "Just open it," Jim said.

She undid the string and then removed the brown paper to find a new photo album. "Thanks, dad," she said, with just a hint of confusion. Maybe this was so she could accumulate new photos and memories to replace the ones she had lost in the bomb?

"Open it, Katie," said Jim again.

Kate opened the cover. A whoosh of air escaped her lungs suddenly. Her mother's smiling face looked up at her.

"I got re-prints of some of my photos," Jim explained.

Kate turned the pages slowly, reverently. Her hands skimmed lightly over the protective covering. Her mother smiled up at her, then her father, then the three of them on a family holiday when she was six. And a shot of her and her father, arms around each other after a snowball fight. Ice-skating with her mother. Her mother and her grandparents around the table on Christmas day. She closed the book before she became overwhelmed. She stood and walked over to her father, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Dad," she whispered.

She moved back to sit in her chair, but Martha's voice stopped her before she could re-open the album.

"When you came to stay with us, Kate, I wanted to buy you some things to replace what you lost, but Richard told me you wouldn't be comfortable with that. When he was calling Jim about tonight I made him ask if there was anything I could get you. Jim told us a delightful story of when you went to see _Singin' in the Rain_ with you mother on Broadway when you were young. It was a lovely show. Anyway, he mentioned you kept the program and stubs from your visit as mementos." She removed a long envelope from her handbag and passed it across. Kate opened it and slid out a copy of the program. "Obviously I have connections in musical theatre. I know it isn't the same-"

"It's wonderful," Kate interjected. "Wait, is this signed by the cast?"

"Of course," the actress replied.

"But the run ended years ago. How did you-?" Martha gave her a look. Kate supposed she should never underestimate the actress' networks within the musical theatre business or her doggedness at ensuring a job was done right. "Martha, I don't know what to say. Thank you. This is just…" she struggled for words to express how valuable this was, how much she appreciated it.

"I know, darling," said Martha with a soft smile.

It came together then. Her mother's favourite cheesecake, the photos from her childhood, the program. So she wasn't surprised when Castle lent over and handed her a small wrapped package.

Kate carefully opened the paper to find a small, black, jewellery box.

"Open it," Castle urged.

She lifted back the lid and gasped.

Her mother's earrings. "They were destroyed. How did you-?" she couldn't take her eyes off them.

"Your father gave me a picture of your mother wearing them. I know a guy in jewellery design. I know it's not the same as having hers."

She couldn't take her eyes off them sitting in the small box in her hands. A memory floated before her eyes of a few weeks previous, when she and Castle had been talking about how sometimes the smallest reminder of a tragedy could bring back the whole gamut of emotions. She had used her mother's earrings as an example. How wanting to wear them and then remembering they were destroyed had brought back all the emotion of the explosion and by extension the loss of all the little things that reminded her of her connection to her mother.

"That's why you did all this?" She knew it wouldn't make sense to anyone else in the room, but Castle would know what she meant.

"Yes," Castle replied. And there was something in his voice. An uncertainty that made her look up from her intent stare at the earrings she had thought lost forever.

He looked so nervous, his eyes unsure. Given her reaction the last time he had tried to re-open the subject of her mother's memory, Kate couldn't blame him. But he had planned this whole night for her. To give her back a little piece of what was lost.

"I…I can't. I don't have words. Thank you," Kate said. It sounded so inadequate after all he had done. Abruptly, she needed to touch him. Her hand reached from the arm rest toward him. His hand met hers in the space halfway between their chairs. She entwined their fingers and squeezed lightly. "Thank you all so, so much." She blinked back tears.

They might have sat like that all night, Kate thought, if it wasn't for the interruption of Martha clearing her throat. The reminder that their parents were watching made her reluctantly drop their joined hands.

"You are very welcome, Kate," said Martha. "I hope you don't doubt that each one of us would do anything for you. You let us know if there is anything you need."

Kate nodded her acceptance, not quite able to form words around the lump in her throat.

Conversation had started up again in the lounge. Kate sat in the armchair and let it all wash over her. Dimly she could hear her father talking to Chet, although she couldn't make out the subject. Alexis and Martha were talking again about the program at Princeton, their twin red heads bowed together as they spoke. Although from what Kate could hear, Martha was talking about what Alexis should wear, and Alexis was talking about her subject selection. Castle sat across from them, watching his mother and daughter with a small, satisfied smile on his face. But Kate couldn't take her eyes off the gifts in her lap. She gently stroked the cover of the photo album then ran her fingers across the program. She picked up the box with the earrings again, drawn to them, and soundlessly opened the lid.

They were exquisite. The image of the earrings she had treasured so much as one of her last, tenuous links to her mother.

In the days and then weeks after the explosion, Kate had often felt that her entire life had burst into useless shrapnel as surely as her apartment had. As though something vital and strong deep in her chest had shattered.

Before the explosion, she could pick up the small, hand carved wooden box that her grandfather had made for her, and even after all these years, could still detect the odour of smoke and wood shavings and imperial brand soap that brought the clear image of his curved back leaning over the work bench in his shed, his weathered but steady hands carefully carving and joining and sanding.

Just as a glance at her grandmother's handwritten recipe book would transport her back to summer days in the kitchen, standing on a chair to reach the bench top, Kate's sheepish look and her grandmother's blue eyes smiling as she fished out the pieces of the egg shell that Kate had just cracked into the cake mixture.

The most valuable items she had lost in the bomb had very little monetary worth. It wasn't the objects of her apartment that mattered, but the memories so irrevocably tied to them. Though her mother and grandparents were gone, these little things could help keep her memories of them alive. They were reminders of how far she had come, how she had dreamed and planned and worked, and of all the people who had loved and helped her along the way. And all those precious remaindered had been taken from her in an instant.

And this man, sitting across from her, smiling as he surveyed the room and saw their make-shift family; this man had worked so hard to give them back to her. He had given her the necessities, yes, sharing his house and food and making her safe without hesitation. But he had also shared his family, his life, his strength. He had made this night just for her, a tribute to what was lost. He had brought together the people in her life that meant the most to her, and tried his best to give her a little piece of those who couldn't be here. And every day that she spent with him she could feel that shattered darkness inside her melt together, strengthen and toughen as together they rebuilt her life, piece by piece and put her back together. And now he gave her another fragment, another link, another memory she had thought forever lost.

This wonderful, dedicated, loving, _good _man who gave her laughter and joy and peace.

This man.

_Oh._

Kate felt something within her shift and change. As though her entire world had been slowly evolving, realigning, and had finally come to rest. It was an epiphany, a paradigm shift.

And Kate knew nothing would be the same again.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Don't hate me! But this is the end of the story. The continuation, tentatively titled _A Not So Temporary Thing_, will be coming soon to a (computer) screen near you. Thank you so much to the over 300 people who have alerted or favourited or left a review, I can't tell you how much your support means. The sequel will be quite a bit different and very AU, but if you have anything you'd like to see in it let me know. Thanks again!


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